1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an art to automatically install a printer driver in a terminal which is connected to a printer via a network.
2. Description of Related Art
When using a printer while operating a terminal, both being connected to each other via a network, it is conventional to run an application which displays a list of printers in the network on the terminal and select one a user wants to use from the list. However, if the printer driver for the printer is not installed in the terminal, the user has to perform many steps before printing can be carried out.
Specifically, a step of making the terminal read a printer driver for the printer from a CD-ROM or the like and installing the printer driver in the terminal, and a step of setting a connection configuration, printing configuration or the like need to be carried out by users. If these configurations are not carried out properly, it becomes impossible to carry out printing jobs.
To solve this problem, a method of downloading a required printer driver from a website which the printer manufacturer provides via the network is disclosed. However, in the method, users have to make a correct choice regarding operational factors such as the type of OS their terminal uses, type of the printer and so forth. In addition, the users also have to set the aforementioned configurations correctly.
An identical situation exists when the printer driver installed in the terminal needs to be updated to the latest version because of a version upgrade.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Applications, First Publication Nos. 2002-197044 and 2002-108588 disclose a method of downloading a printer driver from a server based on the information on a printer driver obtained from the printer. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-084986 discloses an art which automatically sets an initial configuration of a printer driver when installing from a CD-ROM or the like, by analyzing the registration status of the application at the terminal.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-296976 discloses an art which provides a database for printer drivers in a printer driver server, updates printer drivers for each printer by downloading from the database, and makes each printer install printer drivers in each terminal by downloading updated printer drivers.
However, in the art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Applications, First Publication Nos. 2002-197044 and 2002-108588, although selection of the type of printer is properly done by obtaining information on the printer driver from the printer itself before installing, the user may still have to download other printer drivers and set configurations regarding connection and printing. Therefore, the burden on the user is still not satisfactory.
Similarly, in the art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-084986, although the initial configuration of the printer driver is automatically set in accordance with the condition where the application is registered at the terminal, the user still has to set configurations regarding printing other than the initial configuration. Therefore, the burden on the user and time required are still not satisfactory.
Furthermore, in the art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-296976, printer drivers of the latest version are saved in the database continuously, and each printer automatically updates its printer driver using the database.
Accordingly, although the user can easily obtain a printer driver of the latest version by downloading it from the printer which the user wants to use and installing it, the user still has to set configurations regarding connection and printing similarly to the aforementioned case. Therefore, the burden on the user and time required are still not satisfactory.